ricco

I am experiencing problems getting my car into 2nd gear ...worse when cold. Dealer says there is a known issue with 2nd and 4th....anyone else have this? ... I was told that the clutch should be pushed all the way down..... Good info after 25 years of driving a stick... Love the car...too many problems.... VIN under 500 (Canada).

RJC RSX

yes, our front passenger side insert is missing

gottago

The rotten egg smell sounds like the catalytic converter.

RJC RSX

yeah, after break in it should subside

rhaas

I had this one too, only my rattled with the moon roof cover closed. To make the noise stop I opened the moon roof cover and all noise stopped. Took it into the dealer to have the tires swithced out (on my dime) and told them to fix rattles. They installed wool and tape and no more noise from that area. Now I am beginning to hear others though.

Ryan

glencaffey

I have 1,200 miles on my 04 TL with Navi and no problems or complaints at all.

RJC RSX

experienced flat spots this afternoon when driving the car. This shouldn't be acceptable on a luxury car. Surely they did cold weather testing and knew of this effect. shame on acura for this one

TorontoTL

I agree with the tire flat spotting. I will have a really mild vibration driving at highway speeds between 90 and 100 km/h if the car had been sitting for a while prior to driving it. If i het the highway a while after driving there is no perceptable vibration.

I definitely have the sun visor vibration I heard it when I tap on either sun visor or going or certain bumps. I have a rattle in the parcel shelf that I heard if I tap the parcel shelf and once with the bass turned up. Occasionally I hear a squeak from the glove compartment which I think was installed slightly off. Finally, there is the click I hear everytime I put my foot on the brake.

Oops, forgot the infamous memory seat glitch. I love the memory seat settings every few days.

I am planning to go to the dealership in the next several weeks, but was hoping to wait long enough so that there are known fixes for all of these problems. At the same time I was hoping to add the rear mudflaps as well to keep the rear fenders clean.

zexi

1st gear pop out.. Had my car pop out o f 1st gear riding around a parking lot yesterday, you know whn you take you foot off the gas and then push it down again. I just think its a product of high
rpm engine. Never had this happen before and frankly not concerned. my carhas 1200 miles on it and other than that runs seamless. Tranny keeps gettinfg smoother . Keep you posted if it happens again.

brahtw8

I don't know if you have seen the 6MT problem thread, but my advice to you is to take the car back to the dealer and find out what they recommend. It sounds like you MAY have the early-build 6MT problem that has plagued 'my' car and others, as detailed here:

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=65353

I have never heard of the above being normal, or related to a high RPM engine. BTW, the TL is not a particularly high RPM engine, at least in the Honda realm, with a fuel cut-off of around 7500 rpm.

chiy

My 2004 TL 5AT/w NAV, last 4 digit is 9126

It had the Creaking headliner problem and the vibration at speed between 47-59mph when the tires are cold.

Had the car serviced at the deal after 1 week. They balanced all 4 tires. They did find one of the tire 0.5 oz off.
The creaking headliner was fixed for 2 days. But the creaking came back. Will bring the car back to the dealer again....

Can not reproduce the damn memory seat problem everytime.
This is very frustrating since my dealer won't fix any problem that can not be reproduce.

Also, little rattle on driver door when playing DVD demo disc track 21 at 1/2 volume. This track has lots of bass.
Playing AM radio with low tone news reporter causes vibration to passenger speaker grill.

Wish they had more quality control on these cars.

Eiffel

My front passenger plastic insert on door handle is missing as well. My brother-in-law noticed it.

clafournaise

Chiy, did rebalancing the tires fix the vibration problem?

stollerydd

The only complaint I have is there is an annoying rattle coming from some place in or around the glove box. Anyone else?

Pearl/partchment/auto/Navi

GCool

I had the tires rebalanced yesterday and the dealer also rotated the tires and adjusted the lug nut torque. But the vibrations are still there (one around 35 and the other more prominant one around 52 mph and also the constant high-frequency vibration at all speeds). I do notice a little improvement, but am not sure if just balancing will fix the problem. Anyone had the problem completey resolved by rebalancing

I hate having to take it back to the dealer (as the dealership is about an hour away and that too in the other direction from my work and home)

I have tried different make gasolines and that doesn't seem to make any difference to the constant high-frequency vibration at all speeds problem.

This one problem is taking the whole fun and joy out of driving this car (even though everything else is great about it).

2k4TLkev

I too had my wheel rebalance and alignment by the dealer twice, still does not solve the vibration at high speed, i tried different gas too, no difference. I believe its the tires. i dont know what else it could be, wil be getting aftermarket wheels and tires hopefully it will make a difference. Any of you guys got bigger wheels and tires yet and do they make a diff??

Motavar

Memory Problems...

Called the dealer today and the service department was not aware of any memory seat problems. They checked for a bulletin and none could be found. They also mentioned that the manual for the wiring was not released so they really couldn't do anything for me. Pretty much told me to wait a bit...

ragin

Nevermind

MikeRadio

Same with my dealer the other day.

I have noticed that sometimes the light is not on.. you can press memory and they will both flash a few then the memory light does come on.

Other times, if the light is not on, you hit memory and it flashes then they are both off.. meaning the settings are lost and you have to go save them again.

I hope they have a fix for this soon... lnot a big deal since I am theonly driver, but it is if someone else has to park or whatever.

tcchung

After taking the car with the memory problem twice to the service dept, the Acura tech called and confirmed with Acura home office (or whatever they called it) that Acura is aware that there is a problem. There will likely be a general fix to be released in the future. My local dealer's service dept did not get a definitive timeline.

The good news, Acura acknowledges the problem. The bad news, no ETA on when the fix will be available.

Motavar

I tried closing all windows and opening them back up again but that didn't seem to fix my memory problem.

Funny.. because that fix usually works on my older copy of Windows 95... too bad it doesn't work for the Acura TL.

jgrahamiii

That fix only works after a crash.... You need TL 2004 Service Pack 3 to fix this. If only you could go to TLUpdate and download it.

Quite frankly, if the TL were as buggy as any new Window's release we'd all be in REAL trouble!

svtmike

That's a great idea. You could use the Bluetooth that's already there to get the data over to the car from the PC.....

Mike

SICK OF WHINERS

Hey Scott,

Get a job. Whats that you say you have one? I doubt it. If you were a contributing member of society you wouldn't have time to start crap like this!! I have a new TL and am getting sick of people asking me about problems they say they have based on this thread. NO PROBLEMS! Your gathering sheep who should have bought BMW's so they'd never be expected to think for themselves.

svtmike

The people who own cars that have defects, who report them factually, and who provide progress reports on resolution by their dealer and Acura are not whiners.

The whiners in this thread are the fanboy cheerleaders who can't imagine someone actually having an imperfect '04 TL. :p

Mike
Who loves his '04 TL 5AT Abyss Blue/Quartz overall but still wants the tires balanced, the seat memory to always remember, and the glove box to stop rattling. And wants to help others with the same goal.

need4spd

Mike, my glove box has been apart 3 times for rattles, last time they found out from Acura Corp that the mounting clips have to be replaced if the glove box is removed from the dash or it WILL rattle - FYI.

clafournaise

I took my new 5AT/Nav in to the dealer this morning to have them look at a squeak/rattle in the car. They had it for a while and called to tell me the driver's side rear strut was "bad". I'm not exactly sure what was wrong with it, but they've ordered a new one and will be installing it tomorrow. In the mean time they gave me an 04 RSX as a loaner (Yikes-- the RSX makes me glad I bought the TL, that's for sure).

Anyway, they said this is the first 2004 TL that has been brought back for unscheduled service. This is a small dealership in a town of 80,000 but I thought that was still an interesting comment.

I asked them about the cold-tire flat spot, and naturally they had no idea what I was talking about. I'm not willing to leave the car with them for another night at this point. They are going to inspect the tires/suspension closely, but I doubt they will find anything.

svtmike

That's exactly what my dealer told me. He's getting the clips and then the car goes back in.

Mike

need4spd

They had my car overnight as they waited for the coil pack on my car anyway, so they got the clips in over night also, it seemed to do the trick, good luck! Now the drivers door rattles when it is cold, but it does go away after the interior warms up.

Scott GN231

Glad your TL is in good shape. Just think, if something ever does go wrong, you'll know where to look. Not all TLs have problems and not all are perfect; I created this post to help owners figure out how to fix problems if they pop up (most important) and for prospective buyers to have complete info when deciding whether to wait or buy (secondary importance).

Moderator: where's a troll smiley when you need one?

-S.

fuque

FWIW, the only problems I've found in mine so far are a minor misalignment in the hood (left rear corner sits down a little too far), the memory seat unit has Alzheimer's, and the headliner over the passenger' size buzzes slightly on rough roads.

Hopefully by the time I need an oil change they will have come up with a fix for the memory seat unit, and I can get all the little annoyances fixed at once.

MyJohnson

This is just a summary of all the previous posts (sorry its so Long) if I've missed something, please add:

Summary List of Early build Flaws

6MT

1. Popping out of gear (mostly 1st) (some replaced 1st gear, main and counter shaft)
2. Difficulty getting tranny into 2nd and 4th gears

5AT/NAV and 6MT

1. Vibrations at 35 and 55
2. Memory in Seats lost for no apparent reason
3. software upgrade for misfires instead of coil pack replacement
4. Glove box rattle, warped or misaligned.
5. Re-calibrated Crankshaft position sensor
6. stuck thermostat valve
7. Hood misaligned
8. trim areas not flush
9. door handle inserts missing
10. rattle in sun visor housing when open or closed
11. ‘headliner’ not flush with trim
12. ‘parcel tray’ rattle with loud music near subwoofer (never heard it called the parcel tray)
13. ‘click’ when applying brakes (hear this in other Hondas)
14. Plastic ‘wiper’ inside door frame scratches tinted windows (need felt)
15. Sulfur or rotten egg smell with hard acceleration
16. Steering wheel alignment off on delivery and also after delivery and driving
17. MID flashing at high RPMs
18. Butt wrinkle/padding in seats
19. Miles to empty not accurate in MID – possibly gas guage not accurate (fewer posts on this)
20. Engine shifting to overdrive too soon for engine speed
21. Parking brake out of adjustment – too loose (car uses gear instead of the e-brake=parking brake) up or down hill.
22. Carpet out of drivers door trim
23. A-piller sticking out from trim/buckling/bubling
24. Center dash speaker cover rattle
25. Other isolated trim issues (one time occurances)
26. Rear quarter panel where window meets trunk – WELD Mark
27. Driver side wind noise
28. NO Heat (mentioned twice)
29. Outside temp read off

Below is an early list in the thread (many similar to above);

1. Headliner on drivers side is in contact with windshield so it clicks over bumps (2 known cases) – Dealer found broken mounting clips, repaired other case was fixed with felt
2. Drivers door leather was not tucked in near aluminum trim, reinserted it.
3. Steering wheel is off to right, car tracks straight, wheel needs adjustment, dealer did not fix.
4. Parking brake is out of adjustment, have to pull to top to get it to not rely on transmission. Dealer repaired, but within 2 days out of adjustment again, need to re-adjust, especially noticeable on a downhill incline.
5. Outside temperature reading in MID is about 8 degrees high (even after driving), after dealer fix, now 7 degrees off.
6. Driver’s window vibrates at top when fully closed (if down slightly, it is ok). Dealer adjusted window regulator (others have complained about this)
7. About 8 paint defects (small, very small imperfections, such as particles or dust under clear coat) and one scratch near lower black grill near center of car.
8. Rear deck rattled (many complaints of this) with radio on – fixed with foam at center of deck where it meets rear window as it was vibrating against window.
9. Gaps inconsistent in hood to fender fit, both sides, and drivers front fender to headlight. Also, plastic rocker molding on drivers side was about ½” in behind front wheel
10. Leather wrinkles on lower seat bolster in outboard position (not only one to indicate this) – regional says this is normal. Treated the leather this last weekend.
11. Butt print on seat bottom (many complaints)
12. Vibration in car at different speeds (not only one to complain) – dealer rebalanced tires, better, but regional said with these low profile tires, when cold, they are slightly out of round, and when heated, it will go away (I have seen this also, and there was another post on this. Not sure if tranny related.
13. Glove box rattled (other complaints on this also) – dealer moved striker in
14. Memory seat setting disappeared (other complaint about this also)
15. Pass front door rattles occasionally (other complaints) – not found
16. Third brake light cover was loose, rattled with bass and also allowed red light to shine on inside of rear C pillars – dealer repaired.
17. Fuel gauge slightly off, at ¼ takes 10 gallons, 7 gal left.
18 Car up shifts way too early, at steady cruse (not pushing it) it is in 4th just shy of 30mph and 5th just shy of 45mph, makes cruising at these speeds full of vibration as engine lugs as it is not turning enough rpms.
19. Part of back edge of star portion of wheel/rim is not smooth, was not sanded/finished properly, also one is not painted on center hub portion (can not see unless you look inside where it mates to rotor.
20. One exhaust tip has a large silver weld exposed inside tip, visible from rear of car.
21. Noise when pulling away when car is cold and normal acceleration, sounds like a flap is being actuated, but felt throughout car, lasts less than a second (other complaint on this) – dealer did not find.

Thats it so far
:wow:

FRANKKIE

http://www.imakenews.com/autospies/e...e000207444.cfm

THATS AWSOME!

timnguyen9

21. Noise when pulling away when car is cold and normal acceleration, sounds like a flap is being actuated, but felt throughout car, lasts less than a second (other complaint on this) – dealer did not find.

From others on this board, this is just the ABS performing diagnostics. IT IS NORMAL.

jgrahamiii

I must say, that is a long list, but several of the items relate to a single problem and others may not even be problems For example, the crank shaft item, the misfire codes and coil pack item all seem to relate to the check engine light at high RPMs.

Some of the "early build problems" are not necessarily even problems. Butt prints are very common in leather seats. I've looked at Mercedes, Cadillacs (STS), BMW, etc. All had butt prints. This is NOT an early build "problem". It was a choice of leather, and some believe a choice of BETTER leather.

Same goes for tires with flat spots when they're cold. Apparently, this can be a problem for wide low profile tires. Everything is a trade off on a sub-$100,000 car. You're an Acura engineer, you find out that the tires develop flat spots, which last for the first 3 minutes of driving. What do you do? You could add higher pressure, but that makes for a stiffer ride, and perhaps less grip. You could add harder rubber, but that adds less grip and a harder ride. You could use a more normal profile tire, but would not look as good. You could use a narrower tire, but there goes some performance. Maybe a more expensive tire, but that adds $$ to the cost (times 4). A search for a new tire will take time and more testing, that perhaps you don't have. On and on. All to solve a problem on some days in the first three minutes of driving, if you go at higher speeds during those first minutes and if you live in a cold climate. What choice would you make? Is it a problem? Does it make the car that much less desirable?

Problems with the tranny slipping out of gear, the memory seat problem, the sunroof vibration problem, these, and problems similar are very useful here. These are early build problems for which solutions can be found and passed on to our dealers perhaps sooner than they will find out for themselves. It's useful to know that it's not just our car. The fact that your hood was misaligned 1/32nd of an inch is not really relevant to anyone but you and does not affect the performance or enjoyment of the car. This thread is 10 pages long. It has gotten whiny, as you can tell from the posts of people like me who are getting tired of it. I guess I can stop reading it, but, like I said, there are some useful posts hidden in here.

I'm not saying real problems should not be posted, complained about and fixed. That's what this post was intended for. I'm just saying to enjoy your car and stop whining.

I'm curious. I don't see anyway to start a poll with this board. It would be nice to set up a poll to see how many peolpe have no problems at all, how many have very minor problems, and how many have had real problems. It would be informative to see the otherside as well.

LGG

I don't have a problem with this thread and hope people read it with some common sense, but I guess I do have some concern that the summarization above does nothing to separate prevasive issues from one-offs from complaints from defects ("early build problems") from whines from perfectly normal (i.e., as-designed whether the owner likes it that way or not) behavior from whatever. It also does nothing to correlate issues that have apparent correlation. (Like there are three or four different approaches listed to what sounds like the same 5000+ RPM Check Engine light issue cited separately.) Likewise, there are many things cited that have no calibration to the design spec. The hood, for instance, isn't "misaligned" if it's within spec.

Everybody who just started reading this thread on page 10: read the whole thread. Do your own due dilligence.

This is the video the service manager needs to watch after some of these complaints drive in.

Scott GN231

Very well put

I think it's natural at first to see more of the trifling concerns get posted, because folks don't know whether a given issue is pervasive or not and want to know if they're the only one seeing it (though the latter may be true in most cases).

From this point forward I hope we can focus on understanding and troubleshooting the more common problems. I will try to lay out the more pervasive issues over the weekend, perhaps with an edit to the first post that points to the more recent summary.

regards
-S.

JonDeutsch

I think what's missing from this list is the inability for the HandsFreeLink system to send a "pause" command to the phonebook. This is very important for automatically entering PINs for voicemail systems.

MrAcuraTypeS

Hello, where did you find a clearbra for your car?

rets

This is my first post.

My TL-Navi has 4500 miles now with 40% oil life left.

Based on the comprehensive list MyJohnson has organized, I do have some similar issues.

2. Memory Lost: my dealer has no clue and cannot duplicate.

3. Glove box rattle: reassembling, then noise is gone.

17. MID(not Malfunction Indicator Lamp, MIL?) flashing at high RPMs: dealer said MIL trying to tell you it's time to upshift if you're using sport shift mode. MIL could be ADVICE-indicator instead of WARNING-indicator... cannot believe though...

27. Driver side wind noise: when being close to the window with strong wind-blow or high speed, I would hear that. But it is still better than my Legend.

29. Outside temp is 5 degree higher: dealer adjusting it. Dealer can lower as many as you like. I prefer to having lower temp instead of higher one.

Two more:

1) The rainwipers are making black rubber stain over windshield, I hope the new pairs can get rid of this issue.

2) Chemical smell from vent when AC on: dealer says it's normal, especially the new car?? Couldn't know...

If your TL is perfect, it's wonderful. So far, I still think TL is a terrific vehicle.